AS Monaco put themselves in the driving seat for Champions League qualification by defeating LOSC Lille 1-0 at the Stade Louis II under the eyes of Prince Albert II and President Dmitry Rybolovlev.
Backing up their brilliant win over Stade Brestois to make it consecutive wins over direct rivals for a coveted UCL berth, Adi Hutter's second-sitting side are now two games clear of Lille and five points ahead of Brest.
@ASM Placed under immediate pressure by the fast-starting Lille, Monaco were on the back foot early, as Gabriel Gudmundsson's quality chance was repelled by the excellent Radoslaw Majecki.
The Polish keeper was called into action again minutes later too, as he remained alert to keep out a deflection by Vanderson from a Hakon Haraldsson cross, with Monaco doing a good job of weathering the storm.
Les Monegasques then began to work their way into the contest, for Takumi Minamino, Denis Zakaria and Folarin Balogun tried their luck, but ultimately came up short.
With the game level at the interval, the match followed a similar pattern to the first half, as Lille started the second stanza with intent.
Eager for victory, Les Dogues came close when Gudmundsson hit the woodwork before Angel Gomes and Nabil Bentaleb launched unsuccessful efforts.
Not wanting to play second fiddle, Monaco sprung to life to take the lead through Youssouf Fofana's superbly placed strike in the 61st minute.
While Lille tried to mount a comeback, Monaco did an outstanding job of nullifying their foes and controlling the remainder of the encounter to secure a crucial triumph.
The President of AS Monaco Dmitry Rybolovlev, Stephane Morandi, member of the Board of Directors of AS Monaco, and Prince Albert II - @ASM Hutter's Debrief "It's once again a great step forward for us in a big clash between two great teams. I have a lot of respect for this Lille team and for the way they play football. Besides, I would like to congratulate Paulo Fonseca for his work. Finally, congratulations to my players for this victory, which is a big step towards the Champions League," reflected the Austrian manager.
"The objective is indeed a return to the Champions League and tonight's victory is a big step towards this goal, because many teams are fighting for these three places. The team is really on a good roll, we feel a lot of confidence and it shows with this latest clean sheet after the one against Brest (the fifth in seven matches). These are two teams that are also aiming for the podium so, once again, not conceding a goal against such teams confirms our superb dynamic."
Key Stats By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (1.69 to 0.90), total shots (19 to 13), shots on target (7 to 4), shots inside the box (13 to 10) and passes in the opposition half (184 to 166) further illustrated what a great night at the office they enjoyed.
Up Next Having now won four straight and extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches, Monaco will be chomping at the bit to maintain their outstanding form when they take on Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday, in what looms as another pulsating clash to cap off a huge seven days for the club.
"We still have four important matches in this final sprint, including the next one against Lyon, one of the biggest clubs in France. They are also on a very good run. It's also a very big match for them, and it will be the third for us this week," Hutter insisted.
"Then we have home fixtures with Clermont Foot and Nantes and a trip to Montpellier. So I told my players in the locker room to stay very focused and to respect our opponents. We must continue our process to finish the job well."